39/39

Player and manager embraced in emotional fashion after Winks, starting with Dele Alli only deemed fit enough for a place on the bench, tapped home from close range to draw Spurs level at a topsy-turvy London derby against West Ham that they would go on to win 3-2.

Winks and Pochettino were soon submerged by a gaggle of Tottenham team-mates rushing over to celebrate with the 20-year-old, who has been a fixture in the Spurs’ squad for much of 2016 without seeing all that much playing time.

“To be honest I found him, he didn’t find me,” Pochettino told reporters of the celebration. “But it’s true that I put a lot of pressure on my players in the changing room.

Boyhood Tottenham fan Winks, who beat Kane to the man of the match award despite the striker’s match-winning brace described the feeling of opening his account as “all a bit of a blur” but the youngster still took the time to thank his coaches for entrusting him with a starting role.

Pochettino said: “I like it a lot when he came after in the changing room to say thank you to all of us, to the coaches. The show was fantastic for all, for the people who work in the academy.

Slaven Bilic: West Ham should have killed the game against Tottenham

“He said to us only, ‘That is the start.’ I said, ‘Come on, now, this is a big challenge.’ He said: ‘Yes, now I need to work hard but to try to show I deserve to play.’

“That is the mentality we want. It is true that he needs to be happy now and enjoy the moment but he needs to know that all that comes in the future will be difficult. Because to keep that level is the most difficult thing.”